🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa021)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html","crawl_time":1772858315,"first_indexed_time":1726840363,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"F1 Now Has Six Grands Prix Held at Night. Singapore Was the First. - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["Initially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Advertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\nInitially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly.\nThe Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023.\nCredit...\nEdgar Su\/Reuters\nSept. 20, 2024\nWhen Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work.\n“When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008.\nNow, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event.\n“We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.”\nIn 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic.\nImage\nThe illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting.\nCredit...\nWong Maye-E\/Associated Press\nMuch of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove.\n“When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.”\nIn one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now.\nNelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race\nthat his team told him to crash deliberately\n. That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing.\nImage\nThe safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory.\nCredit...\nDavid Davies\/PA, via Associated Press\nThat benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship.\nMassa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l\nosing to Lewis Hamilton\nof McLaren by one point at the season finale.\nMassa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue.\nThe Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise.\nTherefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind.\n“We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams.\nImage\nMax Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.\nCredit...\nMark Thompson\/Getty Images\nSingapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally.\n“It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas.\nThe race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume.\n“It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.”\nSingapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon.\n“It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.”\nThis situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too.\nImage\nThe Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with  cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise.\nCredit...\nMark Thompson\/Getty Images\n“Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event.\nDrivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing.\nThey also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving.\nIn 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return.\nThe race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed $1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history.\n“The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said.\nImage\nCars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.  The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008.\nCredit...\nClive Rose\/Getty Images\nHowever, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done.\n“We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said.\nFormula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore.\nThere are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend.\n“That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event.\nStarting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States.\n“A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said.\nThe Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track.\nSingapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point.\nA version of this article appears in print on\nSept. 21, 2024\n, Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition\n.\nOrder Reprints\n|\nToday’s Paper\n|\nSubscribe\nRelated Content\nTrending in The Times\nValerie Plesch for The New York Times\nJamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times\nMPTV Images, via Reuters Connect\nMatteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\nAvishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times\nJason Henry for The New York Times\nGianni Cipriano for The New York Times\nKristian Thacker for The New York Times\nAmanda Shae Home Team Realty Group\nDaniel Dreifuss for The New York Times\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n\nSearch\n\n[Auto Racing](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports\/autoracing)\n\n[Log in](https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2024%252F09%252F20%252Fsports%252Fautoracing%252Ff1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html&asset=masthead)\n\nFriday, March 6, 2026\n\n[Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper)\n\n[Auto Racing](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports\/autoracing)\\|Six F1 Grands Prix Are Now Held at Night. Singapore Was the First.\n\nhttps:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html\n\n- Share full article\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-top)\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-sponsor)\n# Six F1 Grands Prix Are Now Held at Night. Singapore Was the First.\nInitially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly.\n\n- Share full article\n\n![Sparks shoot into the air from a Formula 1 racecar at night.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023.Credit...Edgar Su\/Reuters\n\nBy Alex Kalinauckas\n\nSept. 20, 2024\n\nWhen Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work.\n\n“When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008.\n\nNow, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event.\n\n“We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.”\n\nIn 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic.\n\nImage\n\n![An aerial view of Singapore with bright yellow ribbons of light along the roads where the race is held.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting.Credit...Wong Maye-E\/Associated Press\n\nMuch of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove.\n\nMore on the Singapore Grand Prix\n\n[![]()The F1 Season Has Surprisingly Become a Free-for-All Sept. 20, 2024](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-season-tight-race.html)\n\n[![]()With Williams, Carlos Sainz Knows He’ll Need Patience Sept. 20, 2024](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-williams-carlos-sainz.html)\n\n“When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.”\n\nIn one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now.\n\nNelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race [that his team told him to crash deliberately](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/massa-2008-f1-world-championship-appeal.html). That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing.\n\nImage\n\n![A Mercedes-Benz safety car turns a corner on the track ahead of race cars after a crash. When the safety car is out, passing is forbidden.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory. Credit...David Davies\/PA, via Associated Press\n\nThat benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship.\n\nMassa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l[osing to Lewis Hamilton](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/11\/03\/sports\/othersports\/03prix.html) of McLaren by one point at the season finale.\n\nMassa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue.\n\nThe Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise.\n\nTherefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind.\n\n“We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams.\n\nImage\n\n![A driver wearing a helmet climbs into a Formula 1 care to prepare for the race.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nMax Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.Credit...Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n\nSingapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally.\n\n“It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas.\n\nThe race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume.\n\n“It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.”\n\nSingapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon.\n\n## Editors’ Picks\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/05\/fashion\/28ST-SNOAFERS-LOOK-BACK-fhlt\/28ST-SNOAFERS-LOOK-BACK-fhlt-thumbLarge.jpg)The Bizarre Shoe Trend That Failed to Take Off](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/02\/style\/snoafers-sneaker-loafers-trend.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/08\/multimedia\/08sp-design-products\/08sp-design-products-thumbLarge-v2.jpg)6 Design Products That May Be the Last of Their Kind](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/03\/style\/design-traditional-crafts.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/27\/multimedia\/27openthread-askvanessa-hwcl\/27openthread-askvanessa-hwcl-thumbLarge.jpg)Why Do People Wear Shorts in Winter?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/02\/fashion\/shorts-winter-cold-weather.html)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-pp_edpick)\n\n“It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.”\n\nThis situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too.\n\nImage\n\n![A dark-haired man sits in a small tub with ice water up to his chin.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise.Credit...Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n\n“Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event.\n\nDrivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing.\n\nThey also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving.\n\nIn 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return.\n\nThe race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed \\$1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history.\n\n“The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said.\n\nImage\n\n![An aerial view of a racecars lined up on a grid. Nearby are bleachers filled with spectators.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008.Credit...Clive Rose\/Getty Images\n\nHowever, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done.\n\n“We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said.\n\nFormula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore.\n\nThere are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend.\n\n“That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event.\n\nStarting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States.\n\n“A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said.\n\nThe Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track.\n\nSingapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Sept. 21, 2024, Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\nSee more on: [Formula One](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/topic\/organization\/formula-one)\n\n- Share full article\n\n***\n## Formula 1: On and Off the Track\n***\n- **2026 Changes:** Under revised regulations, [cars will be lighter, shorter and narrower](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/12\/sports\/f1-racing-2026-season.html), and will rely heavily on electric power. The new rules [have led to confusion among teams](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/01\/sports\/f1-racing-regulations.html).\n- **Arvid Lindblad:** Joining the Racing Bulls, the 18-year-old Briton [will be the fourth-youngest racer in history and the only rookie](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/01\/sports\/f1-arvid-lindblad-racing.html) in 2026.\n- **Going Backward to Go Forward****:** Colton Herta left the IndyCar Series to pursue a Formula 1 career, [by way of Formula 2](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/20\/sports\/f1-colton-herta-daytona-racing.html).\n- **Lewis Hamilton:**He has been a dominant force in racing for years, [but his move to Ferrari in 2025 resulted in no wins and no podiums](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/16\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-lewis-hamilton.html).\n\n## Related Content\n### [International Special Reports: Formula 1](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/formula-one-special-reports)\n- [As the F1 Season Begins, Teams Are Still Trying to Make Sense of New Regulations](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/01\/sports\/f1-racing-regulations.html)\n  \n  ![Max Verstappen on track during Formula 1 testing in Bahrain in February. His conclusion: “It is not a lot of fun to drive.”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/02\/multimedia\/02sp-preview-year-inyt-vhzq\/02sp-preview-year-inyt-vhzq-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n- [Melbourne Embraces Its Formula 1 Grand Prix](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/sports\/autoracing\/melbourne-grand-prix.html)\n  \n  ![An aerial view of the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia, taken in 1996, the first year the Australian Grand Prix was held there. A lake is in the center of the park.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07sp-australian-melbourne-inyt\/07sp-australian-melbourne-inyt-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Sutton Images\/Getty Images\n- [Arvid Lindblad, at 18, Is One of the Youngest Drivers Ever in Formula 1](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/01\/sports\/f1-arvid-lindblad-racing.html)\n  \n  Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images\n\n### [More in Auto Racing](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports\/autoracing)\n- [Alex Palou Crushed 2025 in IndyCar. Now He Aims for Daytona.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/20\/sports\/alex-palou-indycar-indianapolis-500-daytona.html)\n  \n  ![Alex Palou, 28 and from Spain, will make his fourth Rolex 24 at Daytona start. “I think it’s very challenging,” the IndyCar star said of endurance events like Daytona. “I love that part.”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/01\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-daytona-palou-inyt-02-fptg\/21sp-daytona-palou-inyt-02-fptg-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Sammy Kogan\/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press\n- [Ed Iskenderian, Hot Rod Pioneer Known as the ‘Camfather,’ Dies at 104](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/28\/sports\/autoracing\/ed-iskenderian-dead.html)\n  \n  ![Ed Iskenderian in 2024. In revolutionizing the camshaft business, he helped create an industry of customized auto parts worth more than \\$52 billion in annual sales in the United States.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/27\/multimedia\/00-Iskenderian-qbgm\/00-Iskenderian-qbgm-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Elana Scherr for Car and Driver\n\n### Editors’ Picks\n- [Why Are We Spending So Much Money on Home Renovations?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/05\/realestate\/why-are-we-spending-so-much-money-on-home-renovations.html)\n  \n  ![Renovating a kitchen this year will likely cost between \\$20,000 to \\$75,000, according to research by the remodeling platform Houzz.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/08\/travel\/05re-calculator\/05re-calculator-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images\n- [Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Wedding Slip Dress Inspires a New Generation](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/style\/carolyn-bessette-kennedy-wedding-slip-dress.html)\n  \n  ![Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. at their private wedding ceremony on Sept. 21, 1996. Her understated slip dress would go on to become one of the most influential bridal looks of the era — and now.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06ST-CAROLYN-BESSETTE-WED-STYLE-top-mvcq\/06ST-CAROLYN-BESSETTE-WED-STYLE-top-mvcq-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Denis Reggie\n\n### Trending in The Times\n- [One House Republican in California Retires, and Another Runs as an Independent](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/us\/politics\/darrell-issa-california-retire.html)\n  \n  ![Representative Darrell Issa has served for 12 terms in the House. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/00pol-issa-hfo-pmcv\/00pol-issa-hfo-pmcv-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Valerie Plesch for The New York Times\n- [Former Presidents Speak at Jesse Jackson’s Memorial](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/us\/politics\/100000010759061\/jesse-jackson-memorial-us-presidents.html)\n  \n  ![The casket of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived at the House of Hope for a service in Chicago on Friday morning.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06nat-jackson-funeral-am-gwzh\/06nat-jackson-funeral-am-gwzh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times\n- [From 1969: Judy Garland, 47, Found Dead](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/movies\/judy-garland-dead.html)\n  \n  ![Judy Garland around 1941.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/obituaries\/06WHM-Garland-Obit-01\/06WHM-Garland-Obit-01-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  MPTV Images, via Reuters Connect\n- [A Head of State, a Rock Star and Oprah Walk Into a Palace](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/06\/style\/stella-mccartney-legion-dhonneur-emmanuel-macron-paris.html)\n  \n  ![President Emmanuel Macron bestowing the French Legion of Honor medal on Stella McCartney.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Matteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\n- [Israel Pushes Farther Into Lebanon, and Readies for More](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/05\/world\/middleeast\/israel-lebanon-hezbollah.html)\n  \n  ![Military trucks transporting tanks toward the Israeli-Lebanese border on Thursday.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/05\/multimedia\/05int-israel-north-01-qcft\/05int-israel-north-01-qcft-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times\n- [Elon Musk Defends Social Media Posts in Twitter Shareholder Lawsuit](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/04\/technology\/elon-musk-testifies-twitter-lawsuit.html)\n  \n  ![Elon Musk arriving at the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on Wednesday.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04biz-elon-testimony-kbwh\/04biz-elon-testimony-kbwh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Jason Henry for The New York Times\n- [A Quiet Winter Retreat in the French Riviera](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/travel\/100000010758681\/french-riviera-winter-travel.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06vid-french-riv-winter-tfql\/06vid-french-riv-winter-tfql-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times\n- [Most Patients Keep Weight Off With Fewer GLP-1 Shots, Study Finds](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/04\/health\/glp1-weight-loss-dosing.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04HS-weight-loss-zgtw\/04HS-weight-loss-zgtw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Kristian Thacker for The New York Times\n- [\\$550,000 Homes in Kentucky, Florida and Maryland](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/04\/realestate\/florida-maryland-kentucky-home-sales.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/realestate\/04re-wyg-Louisville\/04re-wyg-Louisville-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Amanda Shae Home Team Realty Group\n- [The New California Wine Region You Should Know](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/05\/dining\/drinks\/san-luis-obispo-coast-winemakers-coast-wine-california.html)\n  \n  ![Gina Giugni in the Bassi Vineyard in the San Luis Obispo Coast region of California. She and her husband, Mikey Giugni, acquired the vineyard in 2024. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/11\/multimedia\/11fd-pour-01-bhvw\/05fd-pour-01-bhvw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Daniel Dreifuss for The New York Times\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-bottom)\n\n## Site Index\n[Go to Home Page »](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n\nNews\n\n- [Home Page](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n- [U.S.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/us)\n- [World](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/world)\n- [Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics)\n- [New York](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/nyregion)\n- [Education](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/education)\n- [Sports](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/business)\n- 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Navigation\n- [© 2026 The New York Times Company](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014792127-Copyright-Notice)\n\n- [NYTCo](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-The-New-York-Times)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015727108-Accessibility)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/careers\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/)\n- [T Brand Studio](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/custom-content\/)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/10940941449492-The-New-York-Times-Company-Privacy-Policy)\n- [Cookie Policy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/cookie-policy)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893428-Terms-of-Service)\n- [Terms of Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-Sale)\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Canada](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ca\/)\n- [International](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/international\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Advertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-top)\n\nInitially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly.\n\n![Sparks shoot into the air from a Formula 1 racecar at night.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023.Credit...Edgar Su\/Reuters\n\nSept. 20, 2024\n\nWhen Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work.\n\n“When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008.\n\nNow, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event.\n\n“We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.”\n\nIn 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic.\n\nImage\n\n![An aerial view of Singapore with bright yellow ribbons of light along the roads where the race is held.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting.Credit...Wong Maye-E\/Associated Press\n\nMuch of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove.\n\n“When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.”\n\nIn one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now.\n\nNelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race [that his team told him to crash deliberately](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/20\/sports\/autoracing\/massa-2008-f1-world-championship-appeal.html). That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing.\n\nImage\n\n![A Mercedes-Benz safety car turns a corner on the track ahead of race cars after a crash. When the safety car is out, passing is forbidden.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory. Credit...David Davies\/PA, via Associated Press\n\nThat benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship.\n\nMassa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l[osing to Lewis Hamilton](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/11\/03\/sports\/othersports\/03prix.html) of McLaren by one point at the season finale.\n\nMassa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue.\n\nThe Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise.\n\nTherefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind.\n\n“We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams.\n\nImage\n\n![A driver wearing a helmet climbs into a Formula 1 care to prepare for the race.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nMax Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.Credit...Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n\nSingapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally.\n\n“It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas.\n\nThe race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume.\n\n“It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.”\n\nSingapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon.\n\n“It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.”\n\nThis situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too.\n\nImage\n\n![A dark-haired man sits in a small tub with ice water up to his chin.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nThe Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise.Credit...Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n\n“Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event.\n\nDrivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing.\n\nThey also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving.\n\nIn 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return.\n\nThe race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed \\$1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history.\n\n“The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said.\n\nImage\n\n![An aerial view of a racecars lined up on a grid. Nearby are bleachers filled with spectators.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/09\/21\/multimedia\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt\/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008.Credit...Clive Rose\/Getty Images\n\nHowever, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done.\n\n“We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said.\n\nFormula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore.\n\nThere are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend.\n\n“That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event.\n\nStarting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States.\n\n“A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said.\n\nThe Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track.\n\nSingapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Sept. 21, 2024, Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\n## Related Content\nTrending in The Times\n\n- ![Representative Darrell Issa has served for 12 terms in the House. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/00pol-issa-hfo-pmcv\/00pol-issa-hfo-pmcv-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Valerie Plesch for The New York Times\n- ![The casket of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived at the House of Hope for a service in Chicago on Friday morning.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06nat-jackson-funeral-am-gwzh\/06nat-jackson-funeral-am-gwzh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times\n- ![Judy Garland around 1941.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/obituaries\/06WHM-Garland-Obit-01\/06WHM-Garland-Obit-01-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  MPTV Images, via Reuters Connect\n- ![President Emmanuel Macron bestowing the French Legion of Honor medal on Stella McCartney.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/07\/multimedia\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt\/07ST-MCCARTNEY--01-ghmt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Matteo Prandoni\/BFA.com\n- ![Military trucks transporting tanks toward the Israeli-Lebanese border on Thursday.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/05\/multimedia\/05int-israel-north-01-qcft\/05int-israel-north-01-qcft-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times\n- ![Elon Musk arriving at the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on Wednesday.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04biz-elon-testimony-kbwh\/04biz-elon-testimony-kbwh-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Jason Henry for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/06\/multimedia\/06vid-french-riv-winter-tfql\/06vid-french-riv-winter-tfql-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/multimedia\/04HS-weight-loss-zgtw\/04HS-weight-loss-zgtw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Kristian Thacker for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04\/realestate\/04re-wyg-Louisville\/04re-wyg-Louisville-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Amanda Shae Home Team Realty Group\n- ![Gina Giugni in the Bassi Vineyard in the San Luis Obispo Coast region of California. 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Boilerpipe Text	Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Initially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly. The Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023. Credit... Edgar Su/Reuters Sept. 20, 2024 When Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work. “When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008. Now, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event. “We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.” In 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic. Image The illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting. Credit... Wong Maye-E/Associated Press Much of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove. “When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.” In one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now. Nelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race that his team told him to crash deliberately . That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing. Image The safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory. Credit... David Davies/PA, via Associated Press That benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship. Massa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l osing to Lewis Hamilton of McLaren by one point at the season finale. Massa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue. The Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise. Therefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind. “We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams. Image Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Credit... Mark Thompson/Getty Images Singapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally. “It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas. The race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume. “It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.” Singapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon. “It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.” This situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too. Image The Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise. Credit... Mark Thompson/Getty Images “Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event. Drivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing. They also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving. In 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return. The race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed $1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history. “The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said. Image Cars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008. Credit... Clive Rose/Getty Images However, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done. “We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said. Formula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore. There are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend. “That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event. Starting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States. “A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said. The Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track. Singapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point. A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 21, 2024 , Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition . Order Reprints \| Today’s Paper \| Subscribe Related Content Trending in The Times Valerie Plesch for The New York Times Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times MPTV Images, via Reuters Connect Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times Jason Henry for The New York Times Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times Kristian Thacker for The New York Times Amanda Shae Home Team Realty Group Daniel Dreifuss for The New York Times Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Markdown	[Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation Search [Auto Racing](https://www.nytimes.com/section/sports/autoracing) [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2024%252F09%252F20%252Fsports%252Fautoracing%252Ff1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html&asset=masthead) Friday, March 6, 2026 [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) [Auto Racing](https://www.nytimes.com/section/sports/autoracing)\\|Six F1 Grands Prix Are Now Held at Night. Singapore Was the First. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html - Share full article Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-top) Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-sponsor) # Six F1 Grands Prix Are Now Held at Night. Singapore Was the First. Initially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly. - Share full article ![Sparks shoot into the air from a Formula 1 racecar at night.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023.Credit...Edgar Su/Reuters By Alex Kalinauckas Sept. 20, 2024 When Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work. “When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008. Now, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event. “We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.” In 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic. Image ![An aerial view of Singapore with bright yellow ribbons of light along the roads where the race is held.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting.Credit...Wong Maye-E/Associated Press Much of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove. More on the Singapore Grand Prix [![]()The F1 Season Has Surprisingly Become a Free-for-All Sept. 20, 2024](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-season-tight-race.html) [![]()With Williams, Carlos Sainz Knows He’ll Need Patience Sept. 20, 2024](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-williams-carlos-sainz.html) “When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.” In one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now. Nelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race [that his team told him to crash deliberately](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/sports/autoracing/massa-2008-f1-world-championship-appeal.html). That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing. Image ![A Mercedes-Benz safety car turns a corner on the track ahead of race cars after a crash. When the safety car is out, passing is forbidden.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory. Credit...David Davies/PA, via Associated Press That benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship. Massa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l[osing to Lewis Hamilton](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/sports/othersports/03prix.html) of McLaren by one point at the season finale. Massa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue. The Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise. Therefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind. “We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams. Image ![A driver wearing a helmet climbs into a Formula 1 care to prepare for the race.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.Credit...Mark Thompson/Getty Images Singapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally. “It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas. The race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume. “It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.” Singapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon. ## Editors’ Picks [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/05/fashion/28ST-SNOAFERS-LOOK-BACK-fhlt/28ST-SNOAFERS-LOOK-BACK-fhlt-thumbLarge.jpg)The Bizarre Shoe Trend That Failed to Take Off](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/style/snoafers-sneaker-loafers-trend.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/03/08/multimedia/08sp-design-products/08sp-design-products-thumbLarge-v2.jpg)6 Design Products That May Be the Last of Their Kind](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/style/design-traditional-crafts.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/27/multimedia/27openthread-askvanessa-hwcl/27openthread-askvanessa-hwcl-thumbLarge.jpg)Why Do People Wear Shorts in Winter?](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/fashion/shorts-winter-cold-weather.html) Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-pp_edpick) “It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.” This situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too. Image ![A dark-haired man sits in a small tub with ice water up to his chin.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise.Credit...Mark Thompson/Getty Images “Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event. Drivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing. They also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving. In 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return. The race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed \$1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history. “The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said. Image ![An aerial view of a racecars lined up on a grid. Nearby are bleachers filled with spectators.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Cars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008.Credit...Clive Rose/Getty Images However, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done. “We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said. Formula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore. There are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend. “That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event. Starting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States. “A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said. The Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track. Singapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point. A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 21, 2024, Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition. [Order Reprints](https://nytimes.wrightsmedia.com/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY) See more on: [Formula One](https://www.nytimes.com/topic/organization/formula-one) - Share full article * ## Formula 1: On and Off the Track * - 2026 Changes: Under revised regulations, [cars will be lighter, shorter and narrower](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/sports/f1-racing-2026-season.html), and will rely heavily on electric power. 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Readable Markdown	Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/20/sports/autoracing/f1-singapore-grand-prix-night.html#after-top) Initially there were doubts about holding events in the evening, and on the streets of a city, but they faded quickly. ![Sparks shoot into the air from a Formula 1 racecar at night.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-02-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda in action during practice in Singapore in 2023.Credit...Edgar Su/Reuters Sept. 20, 2024 When Formula 1 was preparing for the first Singapore Grand Prix 16 years ago, many working within the sport were not convinced that a night race on a city track would ever work. “When people see this, they will realize it wasn’t a stupid idea,” Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula 1 at the time, said in 2008. Now, one quarter of the 24-race Formula 1 calendar takes place under lights. And many Formula 1 races have added elements Singapore included from its beginning. Some even drew direct inspiration from this event. “We have a lot of respect for what the Singaporeans do,” Martin Whitaker, the chief executive of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, another night race, said on Sunday. “They run a fantastic event. They’re a very good benchmark on which to aim at. We very much appreciate what they do and, in many ways, are envious of what they can achieve.” In 2008, Singapore was one of two new Formula 1 races. The other was held in Valencia, Spain, but that event did not last. Singapore, however, became a Formula 1 classic. Image ![An aerial view of Singapore with bright yellow ribbons of light along the roads where the race is held.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-04-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The illuminated race course in Singapore, as seen from the top of a hotel. It takes five months to set up the lighting.Credit...Wong Maye-E/Associated Press Much of that had to do with its night schedule. The Singapore race was Formula 1’s first to take place in darkness. This meant the Marina Bay track’s designers had to illuminate its three-mile lap length so that drivers could race as safely as they would during a daytime race. In 2024, this is achieved with 1,618 light projectors, using almost 70 miles of power cables, arranged above the concrete blocks that line the track’s edges. All of this takes five months to install and two more to remove. “When it was first suggested that Singapore should host the world’s first F1 night race, we knew that we faced an immense challenge,” said Jonathan Hallett, the board director of Singapore GP Pte, the race promoter. “The event was unprecedented.” In one way it was not. A Grand Prix in Singapore had been held from 1966 to 1973, but it was not a Formula 1 event. But the first race in the Formula 1 championship in 2008 was controversial and is the subject of a lawsuit now. Nelson Piquet Jr., a driver for Renault, said a year after the race [that his team told him to crash deliberately](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/sports/autoracing/massa-2008-f1-world-championship-appeal.html). That brought out the safety car, a move that forbids passing. Image ![A Mercedes-Benz safety car turns a corner on the track ahead of race cars after a crash. When the safety car is out, passing is forbidden.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-06-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The safety car takes to the track in Singapore in 2008 after a crash. A lawsuit claims that a driver for Renault was told to deliberately stage the crash to help a teammate’s chances of victory. Credit...David Davies/PA, via Associated Press That benefited Piquet’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, (now racing for Aston Martin), who went on to win, but it hurt Felipe Massa of Ferrari, the early race leader who was in a close fight for the drivers’ championship. Massa also had a botched pit stop, finished 13th and earned no points, which indirectly cost him the championship, l[osing to Lewis Hamilton](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/sports/othersports/03prix.html) of McLaren by one point at the season finale. Massa is suing Formula 1’s commercial rights holder, Ecclestone and the F.I.A., the sport’s governing body, over the issue. The Singapore event is intense for drivers. They must complete 62 frantic laps of a technical street course featuring 19 corners, all while their cockpit temperatures in the city-state just 85 miles north of the Equator start off above 120 degrees and then rise. Therefore, when a Formula 1 driver is pounding up a mountain or hitting the gym during winter training, Singapore in September is firmly in mind. “We’re pretty much training for the two or three races in the calendar that really take it out of you,” said Alex Albon, a driver for Williams. Image ![A driver wearing a helmet climbs into a Formula 1 care to prepare for the race.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-01-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive before the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.Credit...Mark Thompson/Getty Images Singapore also has high humidity, which affects the drivers. They can lose eight pounds in fluid weight during the race, while dehydration affects them mentally. “It’s definitely a standout race in terms of the physicality,” said Martin Poole, the personal trainer for Nico Hülkenberg, a German driver for Haas. The race also challenges team staff members, especially mechanics, who must work with the hot cars directly. To keep them from suffering dehydration, it is common for teams to log exactly how many bottles of water or electrolyte-laden drinks they consume. “It’s a spreadsheet,” said Faith Atack-Martin, the physio for Haas. “Just to tell me what they’ve had or not. It’s very normal for them to start to feel unwell if things aren’t managed right.” Singapore’s seven-hour time difference from Formula 1 team factories in England means the race is held with a unique sleep schedule for many staff members. Those traveling from Europe simply wake and sleep as if they are still living on their previous time zone to help beat jet lag. This often means sleeping between dawn and the early afternoon. “It can really impact people’s general mood,” said Atack-Martin. “We only usually get a few hours before we get to work and it gets dark.” This situation requires careful planning for the drivers, too. Image ![A dark-haired man sits in a small tub with ice water up to his chin.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-03-bjmk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) The Mexican driver Sergio Perez takes an ice bath before the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023. Such baths help drivers cope with cockpit temperatures that start off above 120 degrees and then rise.Credit...Mark Thompson/Getty Images “Making sure that he sleeps well actually really helps with how well he’s able to replenish his energy after burning so many more calories every time he’s out on the track during Singapore,” Poole said of Hülkenberg’s critical sleep routine for this event. Drivers get specific training plans for acclimatizing to Singapore’s heat, too. In the weeks before traveling there, this includes spending time in heat chambers or exercising in the heat of the day, often combined with doing cognitive tests that replicate how drivers’ brains must function when racing. They also do more intense activities that elevate heart rates, which for drivers are usually around 140 beats per minute in standard races, but in Singapore the average rises to 165. To stay as cool in their cockpits, drivers consume more chilled drinks, eat more overall to overcome the appetite suppression of the hot conditions and jump in ice baths before and after driving. In 2024, the track has four fewer corners compared with the previous design. This offers some respite for drivers, but it is temporary. In 2027, nearby construction work will be completed and the previous layout will return. The race’s organizers and city government claim the event has contributed \$1.5 billion to Singapore’s economy through the race’s history. “The ability to transform our city streets into a racetrack reinforces our reputation as a trusted, efficient and forward-thinking city,” Ong Ling Lee, the executive director for sports and wellness on the Singapore Tourism Board, said. Image ![An aerial view of a racecars lined up on a grid. Nearby are bleachers filled with spectators.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/09/21/multimedia/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt/21sp-singapore-city-inyt-wlmt-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Cars on the grid at the start of last year’s Singapore Grand Prix. The event began as a Formula 1 race in 2008.Credit...Clive Rose/Getty Images However, Atack-Martin feels Singapore is no longer “out of the ordinary” because Formula 1 now has six night races. The Singapore event organizers have even welcomed other race coordinators to see how it is done. “We have been visited by several other circuits, keen to find out what they really needed to know in order to follow suit,” Hallett of Singapore GP Pte said. Formula 1’s other night races are in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas. There are also seven street courses, including Singapore. There are advantages to holding night races in hot climates, especially in the Middle East. It’s much cooler then, which helps crews and drivers, and also encourages more local fans to attend. “That’s one of the most important and attractive elements that we have in terms of running a race at night,” Whitaker said of the Saudi event. Starting later also means races can get larger TV audiences in Europe and in the United States. “A lot of circuits are very conscious of that,” Whitaker said. The Jeddah and Las Vegas races are, like Singapore, on circuits run on city streets. For Jeddah, which Whitaker said gave “consideration to the light system that they have” in Singapore, high lamp poles were erected to hold most of the lights. The projectors used in Singapore sit much closer to the track. Singapore has a deal with Formula 1 to stay on the calendar until 2028. But Ong said “a decision has not been reached” on whether one of the championship’s most famous races will continue beyond that point. A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 21, 2024, Section A, Page 12 in The New York Times International Edition. 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